


As Though Calling Her Name

by Spiderlily_Writes



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Expanding on what Hapi's sigh does, F/F, Fluff, Gentleness, I wrote something other than smut for once, Loving Girlfriends, Marianne is happy, She deserves that
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-21
Updated: 2020-11-21
Packaged: 2021-03-10 04:56:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,350
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27657838
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Spiderlily_Writes/pseuds/Spiderlily_Writes
Summary: Hapi is well-accustomed to what happens when she loses control and sighs, which makes Marianne's sudden appearance all the more surprising.
Relationships: Marianne von Edmund/Hapi
Comments: 15
Kudos: 50
Collections: Marianne Birthday 2020





	As Though Calling Her Name

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! I wrote this for [Marianne's Birthday Weekend](https://twitter.com/celebratemari), for Day One: Smile! I hope you all enjoy it!

The first time that it happened, Hapi was tending the horses before bed.

It was her task for the day, and while it wasn’t her  _ favorite _ thing to do, not by a long shot, it could definitely be a lot worse. She figured that if Chatterbox wanted it done, it was probably important, and was therefore probably worth doing  _ right _ . So she brushed the horses, and made sure they had plenty of food and water, and mucked out the stables a little just for good measure, because Hilda had been the one assigned the task yesterday and she hadn’t done  _ shit _ , pun definitely intended. 

When Hapi finally took a minute to relax against a bale of hay in the corner and let her sore arms flop to her sides, she made a critical, stupid mistake. She let her guard down.

Usually, she was pretty good at making sure her sighs were kept under control, because she’d had a lot of practice, and they were pretty dangerous, and people got really bent out of shape when a demonic beast showed up and trampled across their stuff. That day, though, she was maybe a little incautious, or maybe a little too sleepy, or maybe just exhausted from the work. It didn’t really matter which one, though, because as she leaned back against the bale, closed her eyes, and inclined her head, she heaved a tired, gentle little sigh.

Her hands snapped up toward her face and she clapped them over her mouth, as though she could shove the sound back in before the magic that accompanied it had a chance to take hold of some beast wandering out in the woods somewhere, but she knew from experience that it was a futile effort. The closest huge, scary something-or-other, whatever and wherever it happened to be, would show up in minutes, maybe even seconds, depending on how close it was. She swallowed hard, turned to watch the door of the stable, and waited.

Hapi wondered, as she kept watch, what it was going to be this time. Her sighs had been known to call up anything from giant worms, to big, wolf-things, to giant birds, and even those weird, fucked-up looking demonic beasts that got created when someone messed around with crests or relics in a way they shouldn’t. The line of thought concerned her, especially when she imagined one of those big nasty things smashing its way into the stable, scaring off the horses, and maybe killing her in the process.

She wasn’t worried about sighing again; she could barely make herself  _ breathe _ for fear that the noise would distract her from the sound of the approaching creature, which she was almost certainly going to have to dispatch by herself. Her eyes stayed fixed upon the door to the stable, her breath coming low and hard through her hands, and even the  _ horses  _ didn’t seem to be brave enough to make a sound, other than the occasional chuff of air through their nostrils.

A minute became two, and two became five, and Hapi waited, stock still, against that bale of hay. Something _had_ to be coming. It _had_ _to be_. She’d never had a dud before; her sighs had a one-hundred-percent success rate when it came to calling up horrid beasts from Goddess-knew-where, so it wasn’t so simple as hoping that she wouldn’t get one.

As if in response to her thoughts, she heard the shuffling of feet, or maybe paws, or even  _ claws _ on the ground outside the stable, like something was hurrying toward her in the dirt. It was moving quickly, as though it couldn’t  _ wait _ to come eat the young woman and several horses who were just minding their own business inside. One of the horses looked up, its eyes fixed on something outside, and Hapi dropped her hands, lowered to a crouch, and began to call up her magic, figuring that if she was going to have to fight, she might as well get a good sucker-punch in first.

The steps got closer, and louder, and the energy from Hapi’s prepared spell began to cast a low, purple glow in the dark corner of the stable, the air thrumming with gathered power. She was ready; she was gonna handle this, she could kill whatever showed up, finish with the horses, and head back down to Abyss like nothing had ever happened. Good plan. Solid. Nobody would know. She was ready for anything, and she tensed in anticipation as something finally came around the entryway.

Well, she  _ thought _ she was ready for anything, at least, but she was apparently mistaken. She’d been ready for a furry maw full of sharp teeth, or huge, evil looking wings, or a head set with glowing eyes that looked like it was wrapped in filthy bandages, something along  _ those _ lines. But that’s not what she got. None of those things appeared.

Rather, the head poking around the corner was surprisingly human. A pretty face peeked at her, framed by soft blue hair that was slightly disheveled, as though the person had come over in a hurry. The eyes she saw were not glowing red or bestial or birdlike, but a gentle brown, and wide with surprise as they beheld Hapi, who was pretty obviously ready for a fight. Marianne von Edmund stepped into the stable, her slender, dainty hands clasped in front of her, almost as though in prayer.

“Um. Hello, Hapi. Did you call for me?” Marianne asked, hesitantly, staring pointedly at Hapi’s glowing hands and odd stance.

Hapi blinked, her concentration breaking and the spell fizzling away to nothing.

“No. Nope. I absolutely did not. How…what? Where did you even come from?” She blushed slightly, embarrassed to be seen hunching over in the corner, and caught off guard by Marianne’s sudden appearance. “I-I mean, I’m glad to see you, Mari, sure, but…what the heck?”

Marianne seemed to be at least as confused as Hapi was, and she fidgeted nervously. “I…I can’t explain it. I was in the library reading, and then I just…heard you. I heard your voice, like you were calling my name, and I knew exactly where you were.”

“And…you came down here? From the library? After hearing my voice? I mean, Mari, even if I  _ had _ called for you, how would you have heard me from all the way up there? That doesn’t make any sense,” Hapi insisted, puzzled. “Are you sure you’re not hearing things?”

The other woman looked away, as though ashamed of something. “Yes, I…I’m sure. I don’t know  _ how _ I’m so sure, but I know you called for me, Hapi. I…suppose it might have been an accident, though.”

“I might have accidentally called for you? That’s the most likely explanation, not that you’re hearing things?” Hapi wasn’t convinced, and Mari was acting really,  _ really _ weird. “I don’t…”

She trailed off, then, remembering with a start why she had been huddling in the corner in the first place. Hapi cursed under her breath, then waved Marianne toward her. “Hey, Mari, c’mere! It’s important; hurry.”

It was as though Marianne couldn’t follow the command fast enough. She gasped, and scurried from the door to Hapi’s side, lifting up the hem of her dress so she didn’t trip over herself as she did. Marianne moved beside her, and lowered herself down to Hapi’s level, crouching as well. It took her a moment, seemingly, to register what she was doing, and she blinked in surprise. “Oh. Hapi, if…if I may ask…”

“Mhm? What?” Hapi asked, her hands beginning to glow once more as she gathered power in her hands. Marianne edged away from that light, which was probably a good idea.

“Why are we crouching in the corner of the stables?”

Okay, yeah, fair question. Hapi grunted. “There’s a demonic beast outside, I think. Somewhere. It’s coming.”

Marianne squeaked, nearly falling over in her surprise. It was  _ really _ cute, and Hapi smiled despite herself. “A demonic beast? How do you know? Did you see it? What should we do?” Marianne babbled.

“Relax, I’ve got this all under control. It…okay, well, you know that thing that happens when I sigh? And it summons monsters?” Hapi asked. She  _ hated _ explaining this, it always made her feel like even more of a freak than she already knew herself to be. “Well, I was working with the horses, and…maybe kinda let one slip out. But it’s fine though, don’t worry about it. It’s nothing I haven’t handled before.”

“A…beast. You sighed, and there’s a beast coming,” Marianne clarified, quietly, and Hapi nodded without turning to look at her.

“Yep. For a second, I thought  _ you _ were it, but then I saw your face. It’s a good thing I didn’t let this spell fly, huh? I mean, you’re pretty tough, but it still would have sucked,” Hapi joked, but Marianne didn’t laugh. In fact, there was a moment of awkward silence between the two of them, only broken slightly by the nervous pacing of the horses and the sounds of their own breathing.

Marianne put one, soft, shaky hand on Hapi’s upper arm to keep herself steady. It felt nice, actually, and Hapi found herself growing warm with Marianne next to her like that. They were…definitely touching more than most people would consider proper, but there were definitely extenuating circumstances, too.

“How long are we going to wait here?” Marianne asked, and she sounded  _ way _ less worried about this whole thing than Hapi would have expected. Not everyone could face down the threat of a beast attack while staying so chill; she supposed little miss Mari had to be tougher than she looked. “What if nothing comes?”

“Oh, something  _ will _ come,” Hapi insisted. “Something always comes. It’s a real pain in the ass.”

They waited in silence for a moment more. “But…what if it doesn’t this time? Or what if it comes, then just keeps walking by, because it doesn’t see anyone? I-I’m just saying, it  _ could _ happen, right?” Marianne theorized.

Hapi conceded the point with a little sideways cant of her head. “I guess it  _ could _ happen, even though it never has before. Tell you what, if we wait for ten more minutes and nothing happens, we can go, okay?”

“That sounds good,” Marianne confirmed. “And…thank you for protecting me, Hapi. You’re very kind.” She squeezed Hapi’s arm a little tighter, and Hapi shivered.

“Yeah. Well. I’m not about to let you get eaten by some big, nasty, awful monster, right? That wouldn’t be very gallant and heroic of me, right?” she joked. Marianne  _ did _ giggle that time, but it sounded just a little forced. Whatever. She’d take what she could get.

The two of them continued to wait in silence, watching the door to the stable, remaining ready and vigilant. There were a couple of times in the next ten minutes that Hapi  _ swore _ she could hear something outside. But it could have just been a passing guard, or a cat, or something; none of the sounds were particularly  _ loud _ , and there was certainly nothing noisy enough to be a demonic beast or wolf or something sniffing around the stable.

Reluctantly, after about ten minutes passed, Hapi released her power once again, her hands feeling vaguely fuzzy and tingly from holding it for so long. Marianne seemed to take that as a signal, and stood up slowly on wobbling legs. “Do you think it’s safe, now?” she asked, reaching down to help Hapi stand up straight again. Hapi took the offered hand, and shrugged.

“I guess. Absolutely wild, Mari, but I think you might be right. I sighed, and nothing showed up.” Hapi snorted. Well, nothing except for  _ you _ , and you’re definitely not a demonic beast, right? Not secretly a scary monster?” she teased.

Marianne looked briefly stricken, but her expression eased, and she laughed once again. It was  _ definitely _ forced that time. “Oh, no, of course not!” she insisted, sounding way too serious. Hapi cocked an eyebrow, but Marianne either didn’t see her do it, or pretended she didn’t. “I…well, I’m very sorry that I bothered you, Hapi. Thank you for keeping me safe, but I really should hurry to say my prayers and go to bed!”

She spoke so quickly that Hapi didn’t have a chance to slip a word in edgewise. Marianne gave her a brief nod of acknowledgement, and was gone from the stables at a speed that the horses, munching on their food a few feet away, probably envied.

“Yeah,” Hapi mumbled belatedly. She looked at one of the horses;  _ Dorte _ , according to the sign hanging outside the pen. “Is she always that weird?”

Dorte snorted in response. Hapi shook her head.

“Yeah, I don’t know either, dude. A mystery for another day, huh?”

Dorte didn’t say anything. Hapi decided it was time for bed.

—-

The second time it happened, Hapi was hanging out in the woods. It wasn’t something she  _ generally _ made a habit of, but every now and again, when the mood struck her, she liked to throw together a sack lunch and have herself a little jaunt down to the forest where she didn’t have to worry about talking to anyone.

It wasn’t so much that Hapi didn’t  _ like _ other people; she loved them dearly. Yuri-bird and Coco and B were some of the best people she’d ever met, and they hadn’t given a shit where she came from or who she was. She made a home with them down in Abyss, and she wouldn’t trade them for the world; they were her family.

But that was the thing about family, she figured. You loved ‘em, you cared for ‘em, you cherished ‘em, and sometimes, you wanted to strangle ‘em. B and Constance were great, absolute delights, but they were just so  _ loud _ , like,  _ all the time,  _ and her tolerance for that had just about run out for the day. Yuri-bird was usually fine, he knew the value of silence, but he was busy with Goddess-knew-what, and Hapi didn’t feel like getting wrapped up in one of his schemes.

There were the other former students from the Academy, she supposed, but she never really clicked with any of them in the same way she did with the Wolves. They were their own little team, kinda insular, all told, and that was understandable. They had a lot in common, they were all from around the same place, and they probably had similar goals. She respected it, but it was definitely enough to make Hapi feel like a little bit of an outsider when she was around them. 

The only exception to that rule was Miss Marianne von Edmund, Hapi thought to herself as she rooted around in her bag for a cookie to munch on.

Marianne wasn’t really like most of those others, and it seemed to be something that bothered her a  _ lot _ . She looked like she was just sort of…hanging there, on the periphery, a lot of the time. Marianne was clearly loved by her friends; they made an obvious special effort to include her in stuff, which was nice, but even when she didn’t seem sullen or nervous, she was quieter than most of them. She had a peaceful, gentle kind of vibe, which Hapi supposed explained why she got along with animals so easy. That was probably why Hapi liked her so much, too.

She couldn’t put her finger on exactly what it was about Marianne that drew her in, but ever since that night a couples weeks ago when they’d been hunkered down in the stables to keep safe from a beast attack, she’d been unable to get Marianne out of her head. The way she felt tingly when Mari touched her arm, or how warm she felt with Marianne next to her, or the gentle curiosity in those big brown eyes when she’d poked her head around the stable door…

Hapi sighed softly as she thought about Marianne again.

She  _ was _ really nice. And pretty. And Hapi wished she could spend more time with her, come to think about it, but she had  _ no _ idea how she could go about making that happen. It wasn’t like she could just focus really,  _ really _ hard on the idea of Marianne showing up to hang out, and it would just magically happen. Hapi would have to actually, like, ask her out or something. Like on a date. And  _ Goddess _ , that sounded awkward, and embarrassing, and like it had the potential to go horribly wrong, so she figured she should just probably like… _ not _ .

Sliding down on the ground a little bit, lounging with her upper back against the nice big tree she’d found, she reached for her lunch bag to grab another cookie. She didn’t have to fish around for one for very long; the whole bag  _ was _ just cookies after all, and she popped a whole one into her mouth.

Hapi very nearly dozed off there, thoughts of baked sweets and of Marianne warring for dominance in her brain for a good long while, when she heard footsteps approaching. That startled her back to her senses, and she peeked nonchalantly around the tree to see what it was, trying to keep most of her face out of sight.

In a turn of events that left her flabber completely and utterly gasted, it was Marianne von Fucking Edmund. The young woman walked briskly through the woods, down the same trail Hapi had used, looking around her nervously, as though she were trying very hard to get somewhere very fast, without being completely certain where that somewhere was.

Swinging back around to the side of the tree that would hide her from view, Hapi tried to process how this could possibly have happened. Did she somehow actually have the ability to summon Marianne just by thinking about it really hard? It sounded pretty stupid when she put it that way, but also, most people would think that sighing to summon monsters sounded pretty stupid too, so how far-fetched was that,  _ really _ ?

The answer smacked into her with the force of an actual, physical object. Her eyes went wide as Marianne stopped on the trail about ten feet from where Hapi sat, like the other woman could  _ sense _ her presence.

She had  _ sighed _ while thinking about Marianne. She hadn’t realized what she’d done at the time; she’d been so wrapped up in those thoughts about her, but she had definitely sighed, and it definitely should have summoned a beast, and it definitely actually called Marianne instead. There were only a couple plausible explanations for why that would happen—none of them particularly pleasant—but the most likely one was that there was something more  _ bestial _ about the pretty young woman than she let on.

Hapi thought back to the strange reaction she’d gotten when she had asked if Marianne was secretly some kind of scary monster, back when they were in the stables together. It was a dumb, goofy question, obviously a joke, but Marianne had reacted as though she’d killed someone and Hapi was about to find out about it.

Was Marianne von Edmund a demonic beast in hiding? She turned to look at the confused, nervous, fidgety mess of a woman standing on the trail, who was visibly frustrated and looking around helplessly.

Probably not.

“Hey, Mari,” Hapi called. “You looking for me?”

When Marianne gasped in shock, jumped about a foot in the air, and spun to look in her direction, she decided she didn’t really care  _ what _ Marianne was. Nah, she cared way more about the way her heart skipped a beat when those lovely brown eyes turned to regard her.

“Y-Yes, I am!” Marianne replied quickly, as though she was surprised Hapi had figured it out. Hapi couldn’t hide the grin that slipped onto her lips. She was so Goddess-damned cute. Like, how was that even  _ allowed _ ? “I…I’m sorry if you wanted to be alone, I just…” Marianne’s gaze slipped downward, like usual, and she trailed off.

“You thought I called you, like last time?” Hapi suggested. Marianne nodded without looking up. Hapi continued.

“Despite the fact that I’m down here in the woods, easily like… a mile from Garreg Mach…”

Another nod.

“…and even if I were only  _ half _ that far away, you probably wouldn’t even be able to hear me  _ shouting _ .”

Hesitation. A third nod, somehow even more sheepish than the last two. “I’m sorry,” Marianne nearly whispered, and the abject humiliation in her voice nearly broke Hapi’s heart. “I don’t know what’s  _ wrong _ with me. I can’t stop bothering you. First it was that night in the stables, and now this, all the way out here, and…and…”

Aw fuck, she sounded like she was going to cry. “If…I tell you I sighed again, does that explain it?” Hapi asked, hesitantly.

Marianne looked up at her, eyes suddenly wide with fear. “I-I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she insisted, and Hapi knew she’d struck a nerve. She’d have to be really, really careful with the next part.

“Aw, come on Mari, I’m not gonna hurt you or anything. I just wanna figure out what’s going on here. If you come sit down and talk to me, I’ll share my cookies with you,” Hapi offered, lifting the mostly-full bag and waving it enticingly. Marianne bit her lip.

“You promise you…you won’t tell anyone?” Marianne asked, looking from Hapi to the bag, and back again.

“Swear it on my life.”

“…what kind of cookies are they?”

Hapi snorted. A woman after her own heart. “Chocolate chip. I’ve got at least half a dozen more. C’mere.”

Marianne thought very hard about it for a moment, looking back up at the trail as if she were considering making a run for it. Eventually, though, she relented, and left the path to join Hapi, who scooted over to make room for her against the trunk of the tree.

When they returned to the Monastery a few hours later, there were no more cookies in the bag, and no more secrets between them.

—-

The third time it happened, Marianne was studying.

It was rather late, she knew. Marianne wasn’t  _ entirely  _ sure what time it was, but she knew it had already been dark by the time she entered the library, and it had been at least an hour or two since that _ , _ so she had to consider that she was probably missing out on a fair amount of sleep. It was worth it, though, for the work she was doing.

Marianne knew her usefulness in the war effort was a bit limited. She could only really provide what she, herself, was able to give, for Margrave Edmund had not viewed Claude’s efforts particularly favorably. That meant that Marianne was unable to commit soldiers, or land, or even disparate, miscellaneous resources to the cause.

What she  _ could _ do, though, was heal. Even on her worst days, she had to admit she was fairly good at that. The strength of her faith in the Goddess, combined with her decently analytical mind, meant that she could quite effectively and reliably patch up her friends when they were too hurt to continue. Sometimes, she could even prevent them from getting hurt that much in the first place. That was good; she did not want to even  _ imagine _ a world without any of them.

Still, there was always more to be done. Always more to learn. She could always be  _ better _ . And so she had been spending most of her evenings, of late, going over any texts on the theory and application of magical healing that she could get her hands on. She was staying up far later than usual, certainly; those familiar dark circles were resuming their places under her eyes. But it was all worth it if she could just…

Marianne shivered, pulled immediately from her reading by a chill that flickered down her spine.

_ “Marianne!” _ called a voice, one that echoed around in her head like a shout in an empty room. She began to feel the draw almost immediately, and she groaned as she realized what was going on, standing up from her chair.

Hapi had sighed again.

The first and second times, neither woman knew  _ exactly _ what was happening. Marianne had some fairly strong suspicions, of course, but it had taken a long, difficult, painfully honest conversation in the woods one afternoon, one in which both Marianne and Hapi unshouldered secrets that they never thought they would, before they reached a shared conclusion.

Marianne’s Crest was more bestial than most, and it manifested in some odd and interesting ways. When Hapi sighed, it summoned the nearest beast to her location. Apparently, they had puzzled out, the definition of ‘beast’ was nebulous enough that Marianne’s Crest made her fit the description. Therefore, whenever Hapi let out a sigh anywhere within a mile or two of Marianne, she was magically compelled to seek her out.

Thankfully, Hapi was usually able to control it, and it had been a couple of weeks since it had happened last, but she knew it was bound to happen again, and it looked like this was the night. She shoved a loose sheet of paper into her book, even as she felt that nearly  _ magnetic _ attraction to wherever it was that Hapi was summoning her from.

It was a curious feeling, she considered, as she marched briskly down the hallway, holding her skirts off the floor so she wouldn’t trip. It wasn’t particularly unpleasant, and she could resist the draw of Hapi’s powers for perhaps a minute or two, but the feeling grew from a light tingle at the base of her neck to something like an infuriating itch that she was unable to scratch, the more time she spent doing anything except hurrying to wherever Hapi was.

Thus, while she probably could have fought the compulsion for a little while, she certainly wouldn’t be able to get any work done. And if she was being honest with herself, she was too sleepy to retain much of anything, anyways.

It was also particularly interesting to be hurrying somewhere, as Marianne was, without being completely certain where she was going. As she trotted down the halls of the upper floor of the Monastery, then downward, then outside as though she was being led by the nose, she eventually realized she was heading in the direction of the dining hall. Her stomach grumbled when she picked up on that, and she realized with some embarrassment that she hadn’t eaten since lunch, and even  _ that _ had been rather light, as lunches went.

She pushed open the door to the hall, and blinked in surprise as the smell of freshly cooked food wafted past her into the night. It was certainly far too late for there to be any proper meals served; whoever was on cooking duty that day was almost definitely in bed already. So how…

Her question was answered before she could even ask it.

Hapi stood, smirking, leaning against one of the long dining tables, arms folded, one eyebrow cocked at Marianne, who suddenly felt as though she’d been caught doing something untoward. She pursed her lips and refused to meet Hapi’s eye, but it didn’t matter. Hapi clucked her tongue disapprovingly.

“Miss Mari, good  _ evening _ ,” Hapi said, hopping up onto the table to seat herself on the edge of it, in one of her many endearing shows of impropriety. “Sorry about yanking you away from whatever you were doing, but I feel like I haven’t seen you in days. Don’t you know it’s not polite to keep your girlfriend waiting so long?”

Marianne reddened a little at that, both at the (true) accusation of absence, and at Hapi referring to her…in that way. Shortly after their discussion in the woods, Hapi had formally asked to court her, and Marianne had accepted the proposal without hesitation. She’d been desiring such an arrangement for quite some time after all, but never knew what to say, or how to initiate such a relationship, or if Hapi would even be amenable to the idea. Now, pangs of guilt stabbed at her chest as she realized she’d been neglecting her partner, even if it  _ was _ accidental. Marianne, unfortunately, did not seem to be very good at having a girlfriend.

“I…I’m sorry, Hapi, I didn’t mean to-” Marianne began, apologetic, but Hapi waved a hand to cut her off.

“Hey, shush. Enough of that. I’m not mad at you; you’re a grown-ass woman with stuff to do. I get it. Life happens, and I’m not possessive. But I  _ was _ a little worried about you,” Hapi said, frowning. “When’s the last time you had three meals in a day?”

Marianne thought hard about it. It shouldn’t have been such a difficult question, but…she really couldn’t remember. She’d skipped dinner at least the last couple of nights, so that she could spend more time in the library, but had she missed meals before that too? Eventually, she gave a light, noncommittal shrug of her shoulders in reply. “I…don’t really know,” she admitted, reluctantly looking up at Hapi.

There was no anger in her partner’s eyes, only concern. And that almost made her feel  _ worse _ .

“That’s what I thought. Mari, you’re like…the nicest person I’ve ever met. It’s the thing I like most about you. I mean, you’re also really cute and funny and smart, and…”

“Hapi!” Marianne interjected, cutting her off before she could continue. Her face was so hot that she  _ swore _ she could feel steam coming out of her ears.

Hapi chuckled. “And humble, too. But you worry so much about taking care of other people, and not nearly enough about yourself. And as your girlfriend—” There was that word again. “—I refuse to stand by and watch you work yourself into the ground. So I used my spooky magic powers to make you come down here and have dinner with me.”

She scooted to the side and revealed the source of the delectable smell.

There were two plates, laid across from each other on the table. Each one was set with a serving of two-fish sauté, and there was a third in between them that hosted a pile of sweet buns. Her mind reeled. Hapi had come in after hours, cooked her favorite foods for her, then called her away from her work so they could share a meal. And all of this, after Marianne had gone  _ days _ without speaking to her.

Tears welled in Marianne’s eyes. It was, without question, the nicest thing anyone had ever done for her. “Hapi…I—”

“Shush. Just come eat with me, okay? We can talk over dinner,” Hapi insisted, wearing a wry smile, and Marianne felt a compulsion that had  _ nothing _ to do with Hapi’s ability. She crossed the floor of the dining hall with just a few quick, decisive strides, bringing her nearly nose-to-nose with her girlfriend. Hapi’s eyes widened in surprise, and she opened her mouth to say something, but Marianne stopped her by placing a warm, gentle kiss on the other woman’s lips.

Hapi made a brief, surprised little noise, but returned the gesture with enthusiasm. Her eyes fluttered closed for just a moment, but Marianne’s stomach growled again, and neither of them could hold back a giggle that broke them apart.

“Thank you,” Marianne said softly, when they had settled down. “It…means a lot to me, Hapi. Thank you. I promise I’ll make time for you.”

“Nice. That’s the goal. There’s some peach sorbet in the icebox, by the way, but if you don’t eat all your dinner, you don’t get any dessert,” Hapi teased, with a wink. “And maybe when you’re done with  _ that _ , maybe we can see about  _ you _ giving  _ me _ something sweet, in return.”

Marianne rolled her eyes and smiled, her heart full and warm for the first time in days. “We’ll see.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks as always to [tansybells](https://www.archiveofourown.org/users/tansybells/pseuds/tansybells) for being my amazing beta reader. If you'd like to come stay up late with me, find me on twitter [@spiderlilywrite](https://twitter.com/spiderlilywrite)! I hope you liked it, please tell me below how you felt about it!


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